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Archived: New Matilda Contributor Budget: New Matilda is one of Australia’s most popular independent media sites, because we publish important stories, every day, which you won’t find in the mainstream media. We rely on subscriptions and crowd-funding to run a small company in a difficult industry.

iCrowdNewswire - Oct 19, 2016

New Matilda Contributor Budget

New Matilda is one of Australia’s most popular independent media sites, because we publish important stories, every day, which you won’t find in the mainstream media. We want everybody to be able to access them, which is why we don’t use a paywall.

Instead, we rely on subscriptions and crowd-funding to run a small company in a difficult industry. The bottom line is, New Matilda wouldn’t exist without the generous and ongoing support of ordinary people. Once again, we’re asking you to chip in what you can, to help us reach our $10,000 funding target over the next 10 days

How The Funds Will Be Used

The money will ensure we’re able to keep paying seven of our regular writers – Amy McQuire, Ben Eltham, Liam McLoughin, Michael Brull, Nelly Thomas, Max Chalmers and Thom Mitchell – for a month. Many of the people who contribute to New Matilda are not paid – but Amy, Ben, Michael, Nelly, Max, Thom and Liam are working writers. Like all workers, they need to know where their next pay cheque is coming from.

As a business, we need to ensure we have the money in our budget to guarantee them regular work.

As ever, New Matilda is running on the smell of an oily rag – but we like to think there’s a lot of bang in every buck our readers are generous enough to fork out. The seven writers whose work your funds will support are some of the most astute voices in Australian media, and we’re asking for help to make sure they continue being heard.

Amy is a Durumbul woman, and a powerful voice on Aboriginal affairs; Ben is New Matilda’s long-serving and incisive National Affairs correspondent; Michael writes mostly on the Middle East, Aboriginal Affairs, and terrorism; and Liam is a psychology major, who wrote his honours on climate change and keeps a keen eye on activism. Nelly is a rising star in the Australian comedy scene, and Max and Thom – both stalwart New Matilda writers – are two of the nation’s most influential young writers.

If you’re still not convinced, have a read of some of their recent stories by following the links to a full history of articles from Amy, Ben, Liam, Nelly and Michael. If we reach our $10,000 funding goal, some of the money may be used to pay other contributors too. Max Chalmers continues to file important stories on refugees and welfare, while Thom Mitchell is still writing on the important environmental issues.

Even if we do reach our target, the unfortunate reality is that many of the people behind New Matilda will continue to work for free. Our owner and Editor, Chris Graham, does not draw a wage. Our fantastic Contributing Editor, Wendy Bacon, is not paid for her outstanding investigative reporting either.

Many of our much loved contributors – like Dr Liz Conor, Dr Lissa Johnson, Geoff Russell, Rod Campbell, and Ian McAuley – are not paid for their outstanding work. Nor is our brilliant ‘in-house’ lawyer, Geoff Holland. They work for free, because they care about independent media and keeping the bastards honest.

Crowd-fund contributions can be as low as $10. Every single dollar helps. If you chip in $120 or more, you’ll also get a range of added extras, including subscriptions and advertising to gift to Aboriginal-owned businesses or not-for-profits. (Scroll the right-hand panel for details, and get in touch if you have questions.)

Please consider lending a hand, for the love of independent media, and frustration with most of the rest.

The Challenges

There are numerous challenges to getting New Matilda on the streets every day, not least of all keeping the legal bills as low as possible. But without doubt, our greatest challenge is paying and retaining our writers.